Volvo EX30 Compact Electric Crossover Unveiled
Volvo has announced the replenishment of its fleet of electric vehicles. The new EX30 model is a compact electric crossover that offers a very interesting price and impressive performance.
The EX30 is indeed very compact: it is 4.23 meters long and has a wheelbase of 2.65 meters, which is significantly smaller than the company’s smallest petrol models (XC40 and C40). The novelty will go on sale in two versions: with all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive. Even the base version has 272 horsepower and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds. The all-wheel drive version has even more impressive performance: acceleration in 3.6 seconds and 428 horses under the hood. The maximum speed in both cases is limited to 180 km/h.
The Volvo EX30 in the top two trim levels offers an NMC lithium traction battery based on nickel, manganese and cobalt, which allows the rear-wheel drive version of the crossover to drive around the city up to 662 km without recharging, and in the all-wheel drive version with two electric motors, the range in the city is reduced to 635 km. By the way, a rear-wheel drive crossover with an NMC battery in a combined cycle, including a highway run, is capable of driving up to 480 km without recharging, and an all-wheel drive crossover is about 460 km. In urban modes, both versions of the crossover consume a little more than 11 kWh per hundred kilometers, but these are only passport consumption values. In combined mode, consumption rises to 15 or 16 kWh per 100 km, but the manufacturer does not give indicators purely for the extra-urban cycle.
It is claimed that the battery capacity in any case is 69 kWh, of which only 64 kWh are available to the user. For a full charge from a home three-phase network with a current limit of 16 A, a regular device with a power of 11 kW will take up to eight hours. The European version of the Volvo EX30 with CCS2 connector is capable of charging the battery from 10 to 80% in twenty-five minutes at express charging stations with a capacity of up to 153 kW. True, in the basic version with an LFP battery, the machine is designed for a maximum charging power of no more than 134 kW.
Traditionally, Volvo has paid great attention to safety. The EX30 should automatically prevent, for example, a collision with a cyclist when the door of a stationary vehicle is opened inadvertently. And a new generation assistant called Park Assist Pilot will make parking easier.
The Volvo EX30 will go into production this year, with delivery to first customers expected in early 2024. The price in Europe will start at 36,000 euros, which is an interesting amount for such a powerful electric car.
